Safe Heart Screening Helps Shed Light on Mississippi's Health Woes

Heart attack and stroke are often called the silent killers, because they can strike with no warning. A group out of Hattiesburg, called the Safe Heart Health Screens, is trying to change this.

They travel around the state to administer a series of 5 tests that check for anything from aneurysms to clogged arteries.

"When they come to us and have these five screens, they're getting something that they can't just go to their doctor and say I want to have all five of these screens done," said Safe Heart Technician Susan Myrick.

Robert Wilson walked into the Safe Heart Screening to be proactive about this health.

His great aunt died suddenly of an aneurysm. Wilson says she had no idea anything was wrong.

"And all of a sudden one morning, she had an aneurysm in her stomach and she died," said Wilson. "She died instantly on the spot."

The American Heart Association reports that Mississippi ranks number one in the nation for death from heart attack and stroke.

It also reports that 50 percent of all heart attacks and 80 percent of stroke victims have no warning.

Dr. Charles O'Mara from Baptist Medical Hospital says there are ways to minimize the risk of becoming a statistic.

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